NLP MASTER PRACTITIONER

C E R T I F I C AT I O N C O U R S E

DEFENCE
MECHANISMS
 DEFENCE MECHANISMS
Have you ever been rejected from a job you wanted, been in a social setting you didn’t feel
comfortable in or had a stressful argument with your partner?

For most people, situations that bring uncertainty into our lives often trigger an unconscious
set of ‘protective measures’ that allow us to manage our daily unpleasant emotions better.
In the short-term, our defence mechanisms can be adaptive. In the long run, their effect is
quite the opposite. The routine use of defence mechanisms can reduce our effectiveness at
processing the common hurdles and challenges that we face in day-to-day life.

This one reason is why it’s vital that we become aware of our behavioural tendencies and our
own defence mechanisms so that we can better see them in others. Do you enter a state of
denial when bad news comes your way, or find yourself making excuses for your responses,
actions, behaviours or lack thereof? Have you ever laughed at a situation where humour was
a completely inappropriate response? If so, these are your defence mechanisms at work in
your life.

We use defence mechanisms to protect ourselves from feelings of anxiety or guilt, which
arise when we feel threatened in some way or when we perceive someone to be bringing
our ego under attack. It’s important to note that our defence mechanisms are not under our
conscious control and are non-voluntaristic by nature.

While it’s unlikely that as humans we’ll ever rid ourselves of our defence mechanisms, it
is possible to bring them under control as we develop ourselves in character and grow in
self-control. Think of defence mechanisms as firmware that’s been deeply programmed into
us since birth. But with more self-awareness, we can understand how these mechanisms
help us hurt us, and how they commonly tend to our emotional well-being.

“The most important element of good communication is hearing what isn’t said.”
- Peter Druker

Let’s take a look at some of the most common defence mechanisms that most of us will be
able to recognise as being habitual patterns of behaviour in our lives.
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PROJECTION
Unconscious
INTROJECTION Imitaiton HUMOUR
Projecting my Making the
actions and feeling uncomfortable
onto others comfortable

INTELLECTUALISATION ACTING OUT

TO AVIOD EMOTONAL EMOTONAL

DENFENSE
REFLECTION OUTBURST

MECHANISMS
DISPLACEMENT BLOCKING
kicking the cat I’VE FORGOTTEN

REGRESSION
return to an
DENIAL
DISSOCIATION full avoidance of
earlier stage of
seperates oneself responsibility
development
from experience

#1 DENIAL

When a situation or circumstance becomes too much for us to handle, we may refuse to
acknowledge it and deny the situation’s existence. By denying the reality of the events we
face, we attempt to protect ourselves from having to face (or take responsibility for)
the unpleasant consequences we are experiencing. If we make up stories to justify our
responses, actions and behaviours, this is us utilising denial as a defence mechanism.

It’s important to note that while this avoidance strategy might alleviate some short-term pain,
in the long run, denial will prevent us from making those positive changes we need to make
and will often have other undesired ramifications. As you may imagine, denial is a primitive
defence mechanism. No one disregards reality and gets away with it for long!

1. Can you identify situations in your life when you have acted in denial? If so, note down your
answers here:

#2 ANGER

Anger is simply the act of redirecting anger away from the self and projecting it onto others.
Anger is a defensive tactic to detract attention, energy and thoughts away from yourself and
onto others.

Even when you’re angry at someone else for doing something wrong, your
projection of anger at them is a distraction from you inner thoughts and feelings
that you’re burying away - your partner forgets your birthday, so rather than sit with
 DEFENCE MECHANISMS
your sadness, you yell at them; your dog urinates on the carpet, and rather than feel guilty for
not checking up on them and letting them out enough, you yell at them; your drunk friend
starts being nasty about you in front of others, and rather address the hurt they’ve caused
you, you get into a fight.

2. Can you think of when you’ve become angry over something which had an alternative
emotion motivating the anger? If so, note down your answers here:

#3 REPRESSION

There’s a fine line between denial and repression. Where denial involves the (often adamant)
refusal to accept a given reality, repression involves our completely forgetting an experience
(or, the part we play in an undesired life outcome we experience). With repression, our mind
unconsciously decides to bury a memory, thereby preventing painful thoughts from entering
our awareness.

This is often the case with cases of child abuse or other traumatic events that occur early on
in our learning and developmental years. While repression (much like denial), might serve
our immediate purposes, (especially for those who witness a traumatic experience). If
we don’t eventually accept and rationally process the experience, it can have adverse
consequences later on down the line.

3. Can you identify situations in your life when you have subscribed to repression? If so, note
down your answers here:

#4 DISPLACEMENT

Have you ever endured a stressful day at work, then come home and take out your frustration
on your family or friends? What about a time where you argued with your partner, then got in
your car and found your patience being stretched with every other driver on the road? With
displacement, we transfer our emotions from the person who is the target of our frustration
onto someone else or something else that has nothing to do with our original offence.

Displacing our frustrations allows us to avoid confronting the source of our grievances,
and shift our focus towards another person or situation that is less intimidating to us. While
displacement might protect us from losing a job, burning a bridge, or doing some irreparable
damage, it won’t help us to manage any negative emotions we’re harbouring. Displacement
usually ends up hurting something (or someone) who hasn’t even wronged us.
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4. Can you identify situations in your life when you have displaced your feelings onto
someone or something else? If so, note down your answers here:

#5 TRANSFERENCE

This is slightly different from displacement. Transference is the movement of past feelings,
attitudes and conflicts into present relationships, situations, and circumstances. Transference
is where one person transfers attitudes, perceptions or assumptions (generalisations) from
a past situation or relationship onto a situation (or a person) into the present, which, to some
extent, is inappropriate for the present.
According to psychoanalytic theories (the works of Sigmund Freud), transference evolves
from unresolved childhood experiences in relationships with parents or other significant role
models. From the behavioural orientation, people may be considered ‘habit-forming’ through
the way in which they relate to, or interact with others.

5. Can you identify a time when you have engaged in transference in either your personal or
professional life? If so, note down your answers here:

#6 REACTION FORMATION

With the reaction formation defence mechanism, we transcend beyond denial and act
or behave in the opposite way to which we think and feel. Typically, reaction formation is
marked by a blatant and very ‘over the top’ display of emotionally led action. Behaviour due
reaction formation is often hugely exaggerated, compulsive and inflexible. Reaction
formation behaviours don’t vary due to changes in emotion as do natural behaviours.

For example, a father who feels guilt at resenting his child may go above and beyond to
express showy love to the child under all circumstances. These behaviours based on fake
emotions are often easy to spot. Modern Applied Psychologists often observe reaction
formation in clients who claim to firmly believe in something and become unreasonably
angry if anything gets suggested to anyone else which contradicts these firm beliefs.

6. Can you identify times in your life when you have acted in an ‘over the top’ way to a
situation? If so, note down your answers here:
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#7 REGRESSION

Regression is a form of childlike retreat, going back to an earlier stage of development

when a person felt safer or where their everyday challenges would be removed by a parent
or guardian. In Freud’s view, the stressors of a person’s past development may be used to
explain a range of regressive behaviours.

Regression leads people back to an earlier stage of maturity as a way of protecting oneself
from the need to confront a problem situation. Imagine, for example, arguing with your
partner, and instead of using mature communication skills, you stomp off, slam the door
and give your partner the cold shoulder. Regression is a defensive and childlike behaviour
response which often ends up escalating problems beyond what was started with.

7. Can you identify times in your life when you have regressed back to an earlier stage of your
development? (i.e. acted in an immature way) If so, note down your answers here:

#8 RATIONALISATION

Rationalisation commonly occurs when we try to explain our unhelpful attitudes and
behaviours away. A rationalisation is an attempt to justify destructive or unacceptable
behaviour logically. In Freud’s psychoanalytic theory, rationalisation is expressed as an
unconscious effort to avoid addressing the underlying reasons for the initial response.
Rationalising an event, situation or even a failed relationship might help some individuals to
‘save face’, maintain self-respect or avoid guilt over something thoughtless they have done.

In many cases, rationalisation is not harmful, but instead, is a state of continuous self-
deception, when a person constantly makes excuses for their destructive and selfish
behaviours.

8. Can you identify times in your life when you have rationalised an event or the way that you
acted or responded to something/someone? If so, note down your answers here:

#9 SUBLIMATION

Sublimation occurs when we transform our conflicted emotions, unmet wants or needs (our
unfulfilled values) into productive outlets. Sublimation is similar to displacement but happens
when we manage to displace our feelings into a constructive rather than destructive activity.
This could, for example, be musical or artistic by nature.

Imagine a situation where your friend argues with their partner and turns their
frustration towards writing music instead. When used to handle a situation you
cannot efficiently do anything about, sublimation is a definite form of defence. But
when used routinely to avoid addressing an issue that must be resolved to move
 DEFENCE MECHANISMS
forward, it can, in many cases, have negative repercussions.

9.Can you identify times in your life when you have used sublimation as a means by which to
redirect your frustration towards something or someone? If so, note down your answers here:

#10 ACTING OUT

Acting Out is performing extreme behaviour to express thoughts or feelings we feel

incapable of otherwise expressing. Instead of saying, “I’m angry with you right now,” those
who act out might instead “kick the cat”, throw an object at someone, or even punch a hole
in the wall.

Acting out serves as a ‘pressure release’, and often helps those who subscribe to this
defence mechanisms feel instantly calmer within themselves. For example, children have a
temper tantrum when they don’t get what they want from a parent. In the same way, adults
get angry and break things or abuse people when they don’t have a more sophisticated
strategy for getting the things that they want.

10. Can you identify situations in your life when you have acted out inappropriately? If so, note
down your answers here:

#11 DISSOCIATION
Dissociation is when a person steps out of their perspective and lives life from the standpoint
of another to dissociate from the reality of a hurtful memory or life event. Those who
dissociate often lose track of time, or themselves and the role they have played in their
processes and memories. People who have a history of childhood abuse often subscribe to
some form of dissociation.

In extreme cases, dissociation can lead to a person believing their perceived reality rather
than reality in actuality. People who use dissociation often have a disconnected view
of themselves and the part they play in their world. A person who dissociates will often
‘disconnect’ from reality for a time, and live in a different reality that’s not cluttered with
the feelings or memories that are so unbearable to them. Dissociation is an excellent
responsibility avoidance strategy.

11. Can you identify situations in your life when you have dissociated from an event or
situation? If so, note down your answers here:
 DEFENCE MECHANISMS
#12 PROJECTION
Imagine yourself in a situation where you feel out of your depth like a fish out of water.
You feel both uncomfortable and anxious. You begin to see that others are staring at you
in a critical and judgmental way. Even though these people don’t say or do anything that’s
objectively negative, the voice of your insecurity becomes so loud and overwhelming that
you “project” your anxieties onto them by screaming at them, “What the hell are you staring
at!”

We all find ourselves in situations where we project our feelings, failures and impulses onto
others. One reason we do this is to avoid that particular truth about ourselves which would
cause us heartache or suffering. While projection can sometimes positively serve us, when
we project feelings of rejection, low-confidence or fear onto others, it can impact us by
compounding stress which then prevents us from dealing with the root of our emotions.

12. Can you identify situations in your life when you have projected your insecurities onto
another person? If so, note down your answers here:

In summary, defence mechanisms play a considerable role in our everyday lives. Even if
we’re not proclaimed students of psychoanalysis, it’s difficult not to acknowledge the truth
that we all engage in ‘some form’ of self-deception some of the time!

The question is though, can you detect the defensive form of deception that either you, your
friends, clients, colleagues or family are using at any given moment in time?

REFERENCES

Freud, A. (1937). The Ego and the mechanisms of defence, London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-Analysis.
Freud, S. (1894). The neuro-psychoses of defence. SE, 3: 41-61.
Freud, S. (1896). Further remarks on the neuro-psychoses of defence. SE, 3: 157-185.
Freud, S. (1933). New introductory lectures on psychoanalysis. London: Hogarth Press and Institute of Psycho-
Analysis. Pp. xi + 240.
McLeod, S. A. (2009). Defence mechanisms. Retrieved from www.simplypsychology.org/defense-mechanisms.